Summers here in Colorado are synonymous with bike rides, hiking, sunshine and bar-hopping. Pair the latter with an ever growing, never boring list of venues to choose from and it could seem too daunting on the wallet to go at it for long. Thank goodness the summer also means the return of The Denver Passport, too. […]

There’s something to be said for simple and to the point. Ryan Negley, Tooey’s Barkeep and Peach Street Distillers Cocktail Liaison, embraced that philosophy when approached to create cocktails for this weekend’s Art of Brilliance unGala at the Denver Art Museum (DAM). This week I sat down with Ryan to “taste test” his creations for […]

In its first year, La Biblioteca has already established itself as Denver’s tequila hub, touting over 300 different varietals, and is now home to Denver’s “Most Imaginative Bartender.” Ben Carrington, head bartender at this cavernous downtown cantina, took home the crown at this year’s competition with “The Recluse,” a cocktail made with Bombay Sapphire gin, […]

In Search of the Perfect: Paloma When people think of the “signature” cocktail of Mexico, they immediately come to the conclusion that it must be the Margarita. That, however, couldn’t be farther from the truth. One of the most popular local drinks is actually the Paloma – a refreshingly sweet, light tequila-based drink that’s perfect […]

This week kicks off the official start to the summer and what is better than enjoying a cold one outside in the sunshine? Day drinking on patios is one of my favorite summer hobbies. With so many options what are the not-to-miss spots to drink in the sunshine? To answer this question I asked my […]

Over eight years ago, Parallel 17 opened in Uptown as a Vietnamese restaurant. Over the course of time, the restaurant morphed from iteration to iteration: french-inspired bistro, french-Vietnamese fusion, fine dining… With each different version, the restaurant moved further away from the original concept. As of May 1 of this year, they have returned to […]

What happens when the distiller gets to make the choice on what ingredients a bartender should use in a cocktail? You get the past session of Angelshare, the 12-week cocktail program where distillers are paired with different restaurants/bars to produce cocktails around a certain theme. This session focused on Distiller’s Choice so the bartenders worked […]

Mardi Gras came and went, but the cocktail world was full of beads, costumes and yellow, green and gold decorations. While the holiday may be officially over, it will live on in an array of colorful, but not overly sugary-sweet cocktails. Carnival-themed drinks were the theme of this past Angelshare session, the third in a […]

Shaken egg whites, orgeat and cream, and carbonation – these were some of the ingredient highlights of this past Angelshare session. . If you didn’t make it to this session, then you definitely missed out on some great cocktails. Angelshare is a 12-week program that matches up six distilleries with six bars/restaurants. The program is […]

The first session of Angelshare is done! Angelshare is a 12-week program, broken up into 6 two-week sessions. Every two weeks, a different bar/restaurant will be paired with a different distillery. The bar has to make cocktails with the distillery’s products, and the sessions will feature a different theme. This first session of Angelshare was […]

[Weekend off the Wagon in your inbox every Friday – Sign up now!] Have you resolved to only drink on weekends this year? Good! You have no reason to feel guilty about this weekend, then! Like good art, music and tunes? Then don’t forget that today is January’s First Friday with all of Denver’s art districts sure […]

Denver’s food and beverage scene is growing and maturing with every passing day. New restaurant concepts, speakeasies, and even a James Beard Award are helping to mold this city’s offerings into something unique and magical. But what does it take to make the best food and drink under one roof? What spots in this town […]

I wrote earlier this week about what is not a mint julep, but in preparation for the Kentucky Derby, I thought it would be appropriate to showcase a little cocktail that contains bourbon and pays tribute to the mint. Let me first state my love for the combination of bourbons and amari. Both delicious in […]

I receive an invite to check out the new cocktail menu at the Wazee Supper Club. Summer is coming and a new cocktail menu has been rolled out to welcome it. Last week I was invited in to try out the new menu and a few of the cocktails (and, let’s face it, the beers) […]

Move over bottomless mimosas and Bloody Mary’s, there’s a new brunch cocktail in town: The Coconut Fizz. Only available at Linger (2030 W 30th Ave), this cocktail is beverage director Mike Henderson’s take on the New Orleans favorite Ramos Gin Fizz, mixing Monopolowa gin (potato based so it’s gluten-free), coconut milk, simple syrup, and soda […]

I unabashedly love Adrift, the Tiki bar at 218 South Broadway. A primer for those who have never been to a Tiki bar: based around a too-good-to-be-true Polynesian or more generic ‘island’ theme, these places were most popular in the 1930s and 40s. They developed their own culture and cocktails during their heyday. As the […]